The present invention relates to a portable audio coupling system for use with a video and audio entertainment system of the type installed aboard commercial transportation vehicles, such as aircraft, railway trains, buses and the like, for transmitting monaural or stereophonic sound entertainment to a passenger/listener.
A search of the prior art failed to uncover any prior art reference which discloses the audio coupling system of the present invention. A number of prior art patents were uncovered which disclose audio systems and accessories, such as acoustic headsets for use with entertainment systems of the aforementioned type. The following is a listing of the prior art patents uncovered during the search: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,217,831; 3,382,439; 3,385,930; 3,463,886; 3,539,724; 3,830,334; 3,934,674; 3,993,161; 4,011,925; 4,149,610.
Most transcontinental and intercontinental commercial aircraft today, as well as some commercial long-distance ground transportation vehicles, are provided with an on-board audio and video system for providing entertainment to passengers during trips of extended duration. Typically, such entertainment systems have a plurality of audio channels by means of which a variety of sound entertainment, in the form of music, radio, movie sound track and the like, is piped from a central source to dual acoustic pipe outlets located adjacent each passenger position. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,382,439 and 3,463,886 are generally descriptive of such systems.
For a specified charge, passengers may elect to purchase or rent an acoustic headset of the type disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,934,674; 3,993,161; 4,011,925; and 4,149,610. Such acoustic headsets are provided with a dual plug-in terminal for acoustically coupling with the dual channel acoustic pipe outlet at any of the passenger positions.
One of the most notable disadvantages of the aforesaid conventional acoustic headsets, particularly on very long-distance trips, is that the earpieces cause substantial discomfort to the passenger/listener by undesirably pressing against his or her ears. This physical discomfort has been characterized or termed as "plastic fatigue" because the earpieces of such acoustic headsets are generally formed of a synthetic plastic material which must necessarily bear against the ears if one is to take advantage of the sound entertainment. For passengers who frequently travel aboard vehicles having a sound entertainment system of the type described above, this problem is particularly acute and, in many cases, discourages them from taking advantage of the video and audio entertainment offered by the commercial carrier.
Heretofore, those seeking a solution to the foregoing problems have sought to minimize passenger discomfort in several ways, among them: (1) designing the earpiece in a shape which conforms as closely as possible to the shape of the human ear; (2) providing very soft and compliant earpieces or covering for the earpiece; (3) minimizing the overall weight of the headset; and (4) providing a highly resilient earpiece frame or means for adjusting the distance between the earpieces to permit each passenger to attempt to minimize the force of the earpieces pressing against his ears. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,382,439; 3,934,674; 4,011,925; and 4,149,610, listed above, are typical of the prior art approaches to a solution for this problem.
Despite the foregoing efforts to solve the "plastic fatigue" problem, ear discomfort still remains a significant disadvantage for many passengers. In some cases, the passenger simply cannot tolerate the presence of any type of earpiece pressed in or against his or her ear. Undoubtedly, there are other reasons which discourage passengers from using the conventionally available headsets.